


under my wing

by asdfgjkl



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU Origin fic, M/M, Tokyo Ghoul AU, but mostly cute stuff, kinda???, some sexy stuff, tagging is hard god
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 20:33:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4033639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asdfgjkl/pseuds/asdfgjkl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Erwin took in the scrawny boy preying on a rotting body, he hadn't expected said boy to continue staying with him six years later - but here they were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	under my wing

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of important stuff: violence isn't actually excessive/graphic, but I'm tagging the warning anyway. Likewise, Levi is underage, but he's not 6 years old or anything. And they don't actually have sex. I'm horrible at smut so I won't put you through that ok.
> 
> Completely unimportant stuff: I MARATHONED THIS IN TWO DAYS, HAHA.
> 
> That aside, enjoy \\(￣▽￣)/

There was no argument that when Erwin and Levi teamed up and seriously,  _seriously_ , tried to achieve a common goal, they were unstoppable. Minor factions from the 16th ward had tried to stop them, and failed. The same went for major factions from the 16th ward, from outside the 16th ward, and the CCG - whose encounter with the duo only led to an increase in their rating. 

Usually, when such indisputable facts were household knowledge, it would be a sort of street code to not get involved in the business of people associated with those facts, much less challenge them head on every Saturday at five in the morning while one of them was trying to jog and the other, taller one was busy stopping every five seconds to fix his shoelaces.

"Goddamnit," Levi swore under his breath.

"The shoelace or the gang?"

Levi shot him a look that was utterly scandalizing. 

If Erwin was a lesser man, he would've fled from the sheer malice Levi emitted and done something stupid like team up with their opponents. Unfortunately for Levi, though  _very_  fortunately for him, Erwin practically raised him, and was thus immune to Levi's antics as decreed by common parental laws.

As if knowing whatever he tried wouldn't work on his... friend, Levi huffed and turned away to face the gathering crowd. "Get up," he barked - at Erwin, not the crowd. "I'm not getting my hands dirty for you."

"Not even if I begged?"

" _Up_ ," he said, before tacking on as an afterthought, accompanied by a poorly concealed full-body shiver, " _especially_  if you begged." 

Erwin smiled his crooked and devastatingly charming smile, and obliged. 

"Y'think you're so good, you lil' shits?" Someone from the other side taunted. "I'll show you what it means to ignore our drawn swords!"

Levi had enough time to realize  _the guy was referring to his fucking kagune as fucking swords, holy hell_ , but not enough to laugh at the realization because said sword was suddenly staring at him in the face, and it was only thanks to his agile nature that he managed to stagger backwards in time.  _  
_

At eighteen, Levi was good but not  _that_  good. 

Though still good enough to beat these assholes to sword-shaped pulps.

"Erwin," he started, never getting a chance to finish when the man in question cut in.

"Don't even mention it." 

A strong -  _dependable_ , Levi thought,  _reliable_  - back was suddenly pressed against his, and Levi had enough rational thought to give some distance between them as his kagune came shooting out, plated weapon darting through the body of people before him to reach that one pissy fucker at the back. 

How dare he call Erwin a little shit with a  _slur_. 

The kagune tore through flesh, and when Levi was finished with him, there was a gaping hole in his chest through which one could view his scrambled insides.

"Levi," Erwin chastised from behind him.

"Shut up," Levi said. "Hypocrite."

Though they weren't harmed as badly, the body count in Erwin's pile was much larger than Levi's. It was one against at least five.

Erwin only shrugged. "You said you didn't want to get your hands dirty."

"No," Levi agreed, before gesturing at the remaining three in front of him. "Please."

Another smile curled the corner of Erwin's lips, though he definitely wasn't going for a charming this time around.

"Pleasure."

↻

"I think," Erwin said - and the way he said it sounded like he was more conflicted with himself than usual that Levi actually turned around and paid him serious attention, "I think the gang always gives us a better workout than our jogging." 

Levi blinked. "No shit. Why do you think I put up with them?"

"You don't. You only take care of one and leave the rest to me."

"No shit," he repeated. "Why do you think I keep you around?"

And Erwin - the bastard, who Levi has no idea why he was calling a bastard, just knew he probably deserved it... that bastard - tilted his chin as his eyes flicked downwards, knowing full well Levi hated being looked down upon. No, that still wasn't why Erwin was a bastard. It's got more to do with the frustrating way a cocky grin was tugging at his lips than Erwin looking down on him. Actually, it's got most to do with how that grin was making Levi  _feel_. 

And Erwin - that cocky bastard, with the smug, shit-eating grin on his face that Levi simply couldn't find it in him to resist - knew how he was affecting Levi.

"Ah," was his simple response. "You always do get more aroused when I display my stre-"

To salvage whatever's left of his pride, Levi smashed his lips - face - against Erwin's before he finished the sentence. 

Erwin let it happen, though Levi was still kissing the ghost of a grin even when Erwin's relocated them to the bed, and all Levi could think, as he impatiently tugged Erwin's shirt off was: that.  _bastard_. 

↺

As with all legendary beings, or just really strong ghouls, there was a beginning to the two of them. They hadn't always coexisted since the start of time - like everybody else, they had to go through the very normal process of an abnormal first meeting, and the awkward series of overstepping boundaries that followed. 

Then, after all the trouble, were they only able to find themselves in each other.

It had started with a particularly cold winter, the kind where everyone on the streets looked like snowballs and no number of layers were enough. Of course it was night time - not to suit any cliché, but because ghouls preferred dining under the protection of darkness, and Levi was no exception. 

 _Though_ , Erwin had thought,  _I wouldn't really call this dining_. 

The scrawny looking boy was bent over a corpse left to rot in the alley nobody frequented because it was  _Erwin's;_  because even then nobody wanted to mess with the big blonde, much too smart for seventeen. 

Which was why Levi being here meant that he must be quite desperate. 

"Hey," Erwin said, not unkindly.

He was within one-shot killing distance. He knew that the ghoul on the ground should be able to smell him and hear him, especially considering their kind's heightened senses. So why wasn't he jolting up in fear or surprise? 

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "Is she," he said, meaning the stale meat, "really that good?" Because he didn't remember it tasting any better than the usual.

When there was still no response, Erwin sighed and crouched down. "Hey," he repeated. "What are you doing here? This is my territory."

Red eyes met his. 

To this day Erwin didn't know if the force he felt knocking him back, was from Levi's clumsy attempt to his chest, or the sheer emptiness he saw in those eyes. He was tempted to blame it on the latter, but was that sort of thing even possible in real life? He wasn't sure.

Scrawny - at that point in time, Erwin still didn't know Levi was called Levi, so he had continued mentally referring to him with the semi-affectionate nickname - worked his jaws, and Erwin could see muscles shifting as he swallowed and gritted his teeth, as if caught between jumping back to his meal, answering Erwin, or eating Erwin, who should be tastier than that low-grade meat, even if he was a ghoul. 

At last, the boy said, "I'm eating." His voice was rusty, terribly unused. 

"I know, but-"

Something about Levi made Erwin stop mid-sentence. Maybe it was the way he held himself - head angled higher to make up for his height, or the way he looked like he would fight anyone to death if they disturbed his meal but would instinctively choose to bolt and live another day if it really came down to it, or simply how he looked: blood staining his mouth like dark lipstick, cheeks tinged with pink from the cold and the feeling of a fuller stomach, eyes wide with the fulfilment of his blood lust.

Erwin licked his lips instead.

That tiny movement was much more effective in bringing the boy to his feet than any of Erwin's words ever were.

"What's wrong? I wasn't going to hurt you."

When Levi still looked unconvinced, Erwin cocked his head to the side, an exasperated expression on his face. "Really," he said, before standing up and dusting his pants for show. He turned so Levi couldn't see the emotions of unadulterated  _want_  warring on his face.

"The woman's yours, if you want her." 

He didn't turn to check, but he could tell from the sound of feet shuffling against the pavement that Levi was back where Erwin found him. He smiled.

↺

Erwin continued feeding Levi until the worst of his undernourishment faded away and he was able to look people in the eye without automatically feeling crazed for food. 

By then it had become a habit for Levi to stop by the alley -  _Erwin's place_ , the boy called it - every night, even when he wasn't looking to be fed. He'd sit there for a few minutes before Erwin's keen sense of smell detected someone in his territory and brought the man over in a giddy rush of excitement as he identified the scent as Levi's. 

"Hey," was the typical greeting Erwin never grew out of.

Levi didn't answer him - never did, so why bother starting now? He kept his eyes trained on the ground as he brought his knees up and draped his arms over them. 

"So, what's the catch?" he asked. Even now his voice was still hoarse, and Erwin couldn't help but imagine how it would sound if he... made it hoarser.

"The catch?" Erwin feigned innocence.

" _Why did you feed me_ _?_ " Levi demanded. " _What do you want?_ " _  
_

"You seemed fine with accepting my food, no questions asked, up until a few days ago."

"Yeah, well, now I'm asking."

Levi was a boy of twelve, rough around the edges the way his voice was rough, jaded the way his eyes reflected darkness, and he had spent more time on the streets than anyone his age to know nothing came without a price. Especially not breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"Hm," Erwin pretended to consider. "I suppose I do have one thing in mind."

Levi didn't seem surprised. On the contrary, he seemed relieved, like this was what he had been expecting, and it was good that things turned out the way he expected, so he didn't have to steel himself for anything he hadn't previously.

He stood up and proceeded to glare holes into Erwin when the older boy made no move to leave.

"No," Levi hissed.  _No, we're not doing anything here_.

"What?" Erwin asked, genuinely confused.

Levi sighed as he realized he had misunderstood the situation. "Hurry up."

At seventeen Erwin had lost both parents and a brother, but at least he had the times he spent with them when he was Levi's age to live with. 

He stared at the boy.

Through the means of a strange impulse, Erwin grabbed the boy's hand and led them out of the labyrinth of passages gently. Levi's hand was cold beneath his - cold and stiff - and when that alone caused Erwin to second guess his plan, he decided it was probably not worth executing. So he wasn't that underhanded after all - Erwin didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, in the moment.

Regardless, he brought the boy back home and turned on the lights when Levi was taking off his shoes, completely skipping the part where he kissed Levi, who would be sandwiched between him and the door. 

Levi climbed onto the wooden flooring of Erwin's living room. "So?"

"I'm not sure what you want me to say," Erwin admitted. "Make yourself at home, I guess?"

The intensity of Levi's frown was phenomenal. 

"What did you think I was going to do?" Erwin asked, passing it off as a joke.

The both of them knew what he was going to do. It's only by some miracle that he managed not to, that he looked at the scrawny boy and decided he's had his fair share of a shitty life. For whatever crimes he may have committed this life or the life before, he's served his time.

↺ 

"Take me hunting," was the first thing Levi demanded the next day, after Erwin strolled out of bed with nothing but a pair of boxer-briefs and tousled hair. He had forgotten about the guest he invited to live with him and jumped back in shock at the kid in his spare bedroom, wound up tight like a wild animal caged against its will. 

It was only when Levi's eyes turned that his memories were triggered, flooding back in a rush and causing Erwin to blink dazedly a few times. 

He started walking again, continuing towards his original destination - the kitchen - as he toyed with a proverbial saying: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Now he just needed to replace man with ghoul and fish with human meat. His eyes flicked back towards the boy, who's emerged from within his room and was standing in the doorway, eyes downcast, fingers pulling on the loose threads of his dirty, ragged shirt, and decided he would like Levi to be around for a lifetime. 

"Coffee?" Erwin offered. 

A scowl marred the boy's face as he slowly lifted his head up. "We can't eat human food," he muttered, as if Erwin was an idiot, and the older boy had to commit actual effort into composing his expression at Levi's ignorance. Didn't he have anyone growing up? 

Erwin felt something tugging at his heartstrings.

"Right," he replied, "but coffee is an exception." He opened the cabinet above him and took out two cups, placing one on the table beside the stove and pouring the dark liquid into the other until the cup was half full. "Try it," he said, extending the cup at Levi.

"You go first."

Erwin stared at him for a few seconds, gauging the sincerity of his inexperience, before he decided Levi honestly looked like he didn't know about the wonders of coffee and pulled his arm back, bringing the cup to his lips and sipping on its contents slowly to avoid burning his tongue. 

At Erwin's successful consumption, Levi had started approaching him - cautious steps that made Erwin want to tap his feet against the tiles to count the seconds ticking by, though he refrained from doing so. Instead, he busied himself with preparing another cup for Levi and handing it to him when the boy was near enough.

There was only quiet where there would usually be the expression of gratitude, but Erwin didn't mind - the pleasant surprise flitting across Levi's face and lingering for well over half the day was better than any words.

"What's your name?" Erwin asked when Levi was finished with his cup, and looked ready but too proud to ask for more.

"Levi," he answered, before finally giving in to his primal instincts and jutting the cup out at Erwin, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. 

↺

From their window seats in the café, Erwin and Levi could monitor the sun. When it was finally setting, Erwin stood up and fished for a couple of crumpled notes from the back of his pants and left them on the table. He motioned for Levi to follow him, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder as a way of asking him to stand, before his hand was rudely slapped away. 

"Don't touch me," Levi said.

Erwin eyed him but did not mutter an agreement or disagreement. He could still feel the jab of Levi's clavicle against his palm when he chose to let the matter go. "Come on," he said instead. 

The duo surfaced from the coffee shop, unaware that this was to be the first day they made their name on the streets, together. 

After walking around for a bit, Erwin halted and turned to his side. With Levi in his direct line of sight, he guided the boy's gaze to a man in the distance - white shirt, black suit, dress shoes. He was swaying and shouting into a phone in his hand, occasionally looking up and cackling at nothing in particular. 

Levi's face was scrunched in mild disgust. "Alcohol tastes like shit."

Erwin could only wonder how he had managed to pick up these little expletives but failed to drink coffee before today. "He's easy prey," he justified.

Levi looked like there were other ways he'd prefer his dinner seasoned, but relented when Erwin told him to continue trailing the man as he broke away. 

"Where are _you_ going?" Levi asked.

"I'll lead him into someplace more convenient for us."

He didn't tell Levi how or give specifics, and Levi didn't press. There would be a time for Erwin to teach him those things - for now, he trusted that the man was capable of luring their prey wherever he wanted, and left him to it. Levi only needed to tag him and savor the withering fear in his eyes when he pierced his bikaku through the man's heart as his mouth clamped down on the fat vein in his neck.

↺

"How was it?"

"Good." 

"Do you think you'd still need me to bring you food?"

Levi glared. "I know how to kill, but-"

"So it's the other part you're worried about? Trapping them?" 

Levi was unmoved, and even when Erwin smiled with blood still dripping out of his mouth, eyes red and terrifying, Levi didn't flinch. 

"Okay," he said. "Next time." 

↺

Obviously, school wasn't part of a typical ghoul's routine, but for Erwin - who enjoyed reading, studying, and making small talk with his classmates - school has been a part of his life for as long as he remembered. It was a few months after his new living arrangements were settled, when Erwin, fixing his tie in front of the bathroom mirror, turned to Levi and asked if he'd like to come to school with him.

 

"I'll help you enroll," Erwin offered, before he turned on the tap to wash his hands, the sound of running water almost drowning out Levi's low growl. 

Erwin snapped back, biting his cheeks in an effort not to laugh. "What was that?" 

"No," Levi snarled. "That's your worst idea ever." 

Erwin shook his head. "I mean before, that sound, what-"

He coughed out dust as a pillow fell to his feet. 

Although the location of the guest room - visible from the kitchen diagonally across, and the bathroom perpendicular to it, mirror facing outwards so Levi was reflected in it - had an abundance of advantages, it also came with disadvantages like these. Erwin sighed and picked the pillow up, flinging it back at Levi as he rolled on the bed, away from its trajectory. 

"The point is," came his small, irritated voice, "I'm not going to school."

That would've been the end of the discussion if Erwin wasn't a stubborn mule and had skipped to the registrar's office on the way home, requesting the blank application he strategically positioned on the dining table. 

When Levi emerged from the living room for a cup of coffee - his new obsession was the  _weird, moving things in the box_  - he caught sight of the sheet of paper. He narrowed his eyes - not because he could read what it said, but because the insignia printed on the top left corner was the same one embroidered into Erwin's uniform, and he was observant enough to recognize that.  _  
_

Surprisingly, when Erwin walked in, the first thing Levi shouted at him was, "I can't even write!" 

He considered his reply carefully. "Do you mean," he started, "that you want me to fill it out for you?"

Levi's eyes widened and very literally shook with impatient fury. "How much of a moron-"

"Okay, I get it. No school for you."

That stopped Levi from needing to finish his sentence. Heaving a great sigh of exasperation, he was about to leave the room when Erwin's next line stopped him cold. "But you're going to start receiving lessons from me."

"I-"

"How to read and write. How to do human things you need to learn to blend in."

"I-"

"No arguments. If you eat my food, you follow my rules."

Levi stare was extremely sour. "I can hunt by myself now."

"That's not the point," Erwin said. "And you're still living under my roof, so."

Levi sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

"Class starts tomorrow."

" _Fine_."

"Don't-"

"Would you shut up already?"

"Okay," Erwin said and complied, satisfied with Levi's answer. 

↺

The reading and writing lessons went smoothly for a few years. By the time Erwin was in his last year of college, Levi could write a thousand word essay on any obscure subject Erwin chose as long as he provided resources for Levi to research with. He was proud, to say the least. 

However, there were other things in life which were required of a ghoul, and that was, "The ability to eat human food in case social situations demand it."

Levi recoiled from the cold beef Erwin had purchased in a convenience store on his way back from school. "No," he said immediately. "I won't ever have to eat human food, because I don't have any human friends."

"You might make some in the future," Erwin reasoned, to which Levi's only response was a straight face. 

"Do I look like the type to make friends?" he sneered. _  
_

"Not really."

Levi continued giving Erwin a straight face.

"But you might outgrow your emo ph-"

" _Emo_?"

_Aw shit, he must've picked that up from one of his cartoons._

"Forget what I just said. I mean, you might make friends in the future, and it doesn't hurt to train yourself to endure human food." He unclasped the chopsticks and picked up a piece of cooked meat. Eating something and then puking it back out wasn't Erwin's idea of a well-spent afternoon, but he convinced himself that this was for Levi.  _Anything for Levi's good_. "It gets easier after a while," he said, before shoving the thing in his mouth, chewing it approximately five times while holding his breath because the stink was the absolute worst aside from trying to suppress his gag reflexes, and swallowed.

Their gazes clung onto each other, as if waiting for something momentous to happen. When nothing came, Levi hesitantly plucked another slice off the plastic container. He dangled it before his face and scrutinized it with such intensity that he looked like he was memorizing every single wrinkle to paint the greatest picture of beef the world's ever witnessed. 

He tipped his head backwards and dropped it into his mouth, before immediately spitting it back out.

His throat was convulsing. Blood was rushing to his head and ringing in his ears. Liquid iron was leaving a burning trail in his mouth. 

"Not too bad?" Erwin said hopefully, and continued before Levi could get a word in. "Just try holding your breath next time," he said as he offered another piece.

If looks could kill, Erwin would already be receiving divine judgment.

Levi snatched the blasphemous object Erwin was holding and flung it at his forehead. It made contact with a wet  _flop_ , before slowly making its descend along Erwin's face, leaving a slimy mixture of sauce and sweat in its wake. 

"Maybe... not?" he suggested, as the beef continued falling down the bridge of his nose.

"Fuck you," Levi said, surprisingly calm and emotionless, as he turned on his heels and calmly sauntered into his bedroom. 

Erwin feared for his life.

↺

It took at least a month before Levi willingly exchanged more than three words with Erwin in a single sitting, who would've tolerated it if the month had been like any other. However, it was a terribly long month full of coddling and begging and sweet-talking, and Erwin shuddered at the thought of ever having to go through it again. 

But tonight was special, and he wouldn't want to ruin it by bringing up unwanted memories. 

He turned the television off as Levi walked out of the shower, a low-riding towel wrapped around his waist. 

"Want to go out?" Erwin asked, keeping his eyes  _above_  the length of the towel and not elsewhere. 

Levi frowned. "For?"

"There's a new restaurant in town." 

" _No_. What are you trying to do? Kill me?" 

"It's not a restaurant for humans, Levi," Erwin explained infuriatingly. "It's a  _restaurant_. Haven't you wanted to go to one for a long time?"

Levi cocked his head sideways. "A ghoul restaurant," he considered. "Okay," he said, straightening and looking back at Erwin. "I'll get dressed."

They went out in nice coats fifteen minutes later - Erwin locking the door behind them as Levi shifted his weight from one foot to another. 

"Are you cold?" Erwin asked, noticing the movement from the corner of his eyes. 

Levi shook his head.

"Impatient?" he tried again.

Levi nodded. 

Erwin smiled, offering a gloved hand as he pocketed his key with the other. "Let's go."

The younger boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes, casually tucking his hands into the pockets on his side before shoving Erwin's outstretched one out of the way with his chest and walking down the hallway.

"You don't even know where it is," Erwin called out.

"I'll manage." 

Erwin couldn't help but smile again.

↺

The show begun at seven, on the dot. 

Levi and Erwin were pestered by two round and surprisingly strong men in the entrance when they tried to make their way through, until Erwin sighed and pulled out his wallet, flashing them a card hidden inside. Upon seeing the identification, they parted and revealed the shabby-looking door they were guarding, granting the blonde and his company access. 

"A membership card?" Levi asked, once they were inside.

From where he was standing in front, Erwin gave Levi a side-glance and winked. "Come on, the horrors of the night are waiting," was all he allowed.

Then, they followed the fluorescent arrows tacked onto the walls to another shabby door, except this one opened to a grand hall, decorated more lavishly than anything Levi's ever seen.

He stood shell-shocked and would probably have stayed there until the next guests arrived if not for Erwin's insistent tugging, leading him up through a stairway and to the terrace railings, where they were afforded a better view of the vast emptiness below, illuminated by stage lights from every possible angle.

"You've been here before," Levi said accusingly, not a question but a statement. "You know what's going to happen. Why didn't you tell me when I asked?"

He was almost sure, from the way Erwin seemed to know his way around and had something which led the bouncers to believe they were members of the restaurant, that Erwin dropped by frequently. But the furtive glances and the wariness in his eyes when they made their way up gave Levi doubts. 

When Erwin turned to him, allowing Levi the privilege to catch his eyes opened wider than usual and his upper lip getting chewed up, his doubts were suddenly replaced with clear certainty. "Never mind," he murmured, looking back down at the stage before he sighed, as if losing an internal battle he picked with himself. 

Turning back to face his guardian slash friend slash whatever they really were, Levi felt his hand coming up on its own volition, not stopping until it settled on where Erwin's teeth were gnawing at his lips. He cupped the side of Erwin's face with his fingers as his thumb soothed the swollen lip, coaxing Erwin to release it from his bite. 

Erwin did, but only because there was something in Levi's expression that resembled fondness, and if he had closed his eyes and leaned in, Levi would've probably kissed him back. 

Unfortunately, the fanfare from three stories down snapped them out of the moment before anything could happen. A woman in a ridiculously colored dress, flanked by two men in matching masks, had managed to attract everyone's eyes as the thousand lights in the room were switched off, except for the ones shining directly on her. 

"Welcome to another night of festivities!" she exclaimed. "On this special day, we have..." 

Levi ignored the rest of her speech in favor of fixing his gaze onto the girl being dragged up on a podium on the ground floor. Even from this height, he could smell her undeniably human flavor, and from the way other heads were turning and searching, it seemed he wasn't the only one. 

"What are they going to do to her?" he asked, voice strained. All he knew about ghoul restaurants were that they entertained, but his inklings on what was about to happen didn't seem like his particular suit of entertainment. 

A scene from his childhood flashed through his mind, and Levi warded it off with a violent shake of his head.

"Levi," came Erwin's reply from beside him, sounding muted and incredibly faraway, "what's wrong?"

" _What are they going to do to her?_ " 

Just as he said that, the lights around the arena switched on, unveiling a gigantic ghoul with a bat in one hand and a mace in the other, grinning down at the girl dressed in pretty, doll-like clothes. 

She screamed, and Levi was rushing through the crowd and down the stairs and out the chipped, wooden door faster than he ever thought possible. 

"Levi!" Erwin hissed as he watched his companion disappear. "Come back! Where are you going?"

When there was no response, Erwin groaned, and with one last look at the happenings below - the girl trying her best to run but slowly tiring, one ankle swollen to monstrous proportions and the other bursting out occasional spurts of blood, leaving a splatter of red wherever she went - Erwin chased after Levi and tried to control his gag reflexes, even though he hadn't consumed any human food. 

↺

"Levi!" Erwin shouted when he finally caught up to the man, spotting his black hair flying wildly through the wind as he ran past curious passersby. "Levi, stop!"

Erwin wasn't expecting him to, though it would've been nice, he thought, if Levi did. It's been a while since he trained his stamina, and he was going to collapse under a mountain of sweat if the younger boy kept this up any longer. 

At the next turn, Levi bumped into a rowdy gang of teenagers and stumbled, giving Erwin a chance to catch up. 

"Sorry," he apologized to the group, who were drunk and couldn't care less about a boy who dropped down in front of them. They continued cheering and singing loudly as Erwin picked Levi up, only to have his hand slapped away, as per usual. " _Don't touch me_." 

"Sorry," Erwin said again, though his hands shot out a second later to grab at Levi's shoulders when he tried to bolt. "Don't run, please? I can't keep up," he said, hoping his self-deprecating humor would help lighten the mood.

It did not.

"Why didn't you tell me that was what happened in the restaurant?"

"I didn't know."

"Bullshit! How did you get the card?" 

"A friend procured it for me. Please, Levi," he reached out to grab his hands but stopped himself midway, "tell me what's wrong?"

It was a question, because Levi had a choice - to answer, or not to. 

Erwin saw the boy's Adam's apple - startlingly defined now - bob up and down as he swallowed. 

"I'll tell you if you bring us home," he compromised at last.

"Okay," came Erwin's immediate reply. 

He hailed a cab, effectively wishing away a week's worth of coffee and utilities, and kept a hand on Levi's knee the whole ride home. Levi didn't push it away, and Erwin took it as a good sign. 

He paid the driver the exact amount when they arrived - part-time jobs only provided so much - and kept Levi's hand curled in his as they climbed the stairs to Erwin's floor and waited for him to unlock the door. 

Just as it closed behind them, Levi's hands snaked around his neck and brought his head lower, standing on tiptoes himself so their faces were about the same height. He stared at Erwin for a second before diving in and capturing his lips. 

"What-" Erwin had the chance to get out as he pulled away, before Levi leaned in closer and pressed their lips back together with unrelenting harshness. He was rougher this time around, pushing and shoving until Erwin finally gave in and opened his mouth. 

Erwin welcomed his tongue for a few moments before frowning and pushing him aside, again. 

"You promised to tell me something, Levi," he chastised.

Erwin's words only served to make Levi scowl as he took a step forward, and then another, causing Erwin to retaliate in steps backwards, until he finally hit the wall. 

"Don't bullshit me and say you're not interested in fucking me," Levi said, as if that was where this was going all along. "I see the way you look - you've been looking at me, Erwin."

Levi stopped, and they stayed frozen for a few seconds - distance easily closed by a single step hanging between them, the air vibrating with tension, and Erwin could swore he smelled gasoline with how readily flammable the situation was.

Maybe it was the name - it was probably the name, and how it sounded, fitted around Levi's lips - but this time, Erwin was the one closing the distance, taking the step. His hands came down around Levi and settled on his waist. Levi was gripping the front of his shirt as his mouth busied itself with Erwin's again, teeth making an appearance to bite lip before tongue flicked the swollen muscle with pretend demurity, rushing in when it was granted entrance. Erwin pulled him closer as their tongues slid against each other, the sensual action quickly turning into a struggle for dominance Erwin won by thrusting his hips against Levi - just once, swift and concise.

 _Okay_ , Erwin decided.  _If this was how he wanted to play_.

Against a whimper Levi fought to swallow, Erwin managed to steal the lead away. Satisfied, he allowed his hands to travel down until they were cupping Levi's ass. He stretched his palms and nudged him, and when the boy instinctively knew to wrap his legs around Erwin, he rewarded him with a whisper of, "Good boy," right into his ear. 

This time there was no stopping the sound that came surging out of Levi's throat, and, oh, speaking of throats, there was something Erwin's been dying to try for a long time. 

He kicked the door to his bedroom open and dropped Levi on the bed. The boy stared up at him from under hooded eyes, and Erwin couldn't resist palming himself through his slacks. 

He didn't know when a pair of hands got to his sides - not that he was particularly concerned with them, except for how they were pulling both his pants and boxers down simultaneously, which felt like the hottest thing Levi could do in the moment.

In the next one, he was taking the head of Erwin's cock into his mouth while maintaining eye contact, and there was no way stripping could top that off. 

Erwin struggled to keep his eyes open as he allowed his fingers to rest in Levi's hair, carding gently through them before applying pressure on the back of his scalp when Erwin decided Levi's had long enough to adjust to his length. 

"You can't take it all in, so don't try. Stop me when it's too much," Erwin might've semi-accidentally, semi-purposely taunted, which was a good call on his part.

He's never seen Levi improved quicker than he did then. Suddenly, the boy graduated from kitty licking around his head to lapping greedily along his length, flattening his tongue so as to provide more of that sweet friction Erwin craved.

Erwin would swear, but he was biting his lip so that was a no-go.

It didn't take long before Levi could take half of him, head bobbing up and down and back up again as he sucked Erwin off. He was doing a sloppy job, but Erwin didn't mind. He was about ready to explode the moment Levi learned to twirl his tongue in crooked circles on that spot under his head.

"Levi," he cried softly, brokenly, and Levi must've known he was going to come from the insistent tugging on his hair, if not from Erwin's verbal warning. 

Yet he still stayed on his knees, on the bed, and his mouth was still latched onto Erwin's cock. 

He came with a grunt.

When he opened his eyes to see some of his come dripping out of Levi's mouth, he felt like he could come again.

Erwin pulled out when the wet and the heat became overbearing. In his dazed state, he found Levi staring at him expectantly as he realized the other boy hasn't came yet. Or touched himself. 

Erwin smiled as he pushed Levi down. "Don't move," he ordered. 

He climbed on the bed and positioned himself so he had Levi trapped underneath all four limbs. He placed the flat of his palm on Levi's muscled stomach and slowly trailed it downwards, until his fingers were hovering dangerously on the strip of skin above his waistband, exposed by the way his shirt was bunched up much higher than his nipples. 

"Shirt off," Erwin whispered. Levi flung the fabric off as quickly as possible. "Good. Leave your hands up there." 

Erwin spared a second to make sure Levi obeyed him before turning his attention back to the tantalizingly fair skin. He dipped a finger into Levi's pants as his other hand pulled the zipper down. 

Levi breathed heavily. 

When the zipper was fully open, and Erwin has popped the button above it, he saw a wet spot on the front of Levi's boxers and smiled, settling into a more comfortable, sitting position with Levi's legs around him. "This is a rather large tent," he said as a finger lazily traced the outline of Levi's straining member.

"Stop teasing me," the boy let out in a half-whine.

"I will, once you tell me what you promised to." 

The glare Levi shot him - it was fucking gold.

↺

About an hour later, Erwin was tucking the both of them to sleep, and Levi was still hard beneath the sheets.

Erwin had no qualms about how Levi chose to spend his nights. Anyway, he actually found it kind of hot that he was denying himself for Erwin.

"Don't touch yourself," he warned as he cuddled up behind the boy. "I'll know."

Levi scoffed, but brought his hands up from under the covers.

Erwin reached behind him to turn off the light.

The quiet almost deceived Erwin into thinking he could finally settle into a deep slumber when Levi suddenly stirred in his arms. 

When he opened his eyes, Erwin saw the other boy staring up. Things was barely visible in the shroud of darkness, but Erwin managed. He would always, no matter what or where or why, if it was for his golden boy.

"My parents," Levi whispered in a volume appropriate for conversations made half-awake. "It was where they died," he continued, and Erwin knew he meant the restaurant. "I don't really remember, but I saw what happened from backstage. I guess they offended some pretty important people or something. It was supposed to be my turn, after my parents, but someone helped me escape. He took care of me until a few years back. I don't know why he just upped and left one day, and I honestly thought I could survive without anyone but I discovered how wrong I was. Adult humans are still stronger than me even though I had my bikaku and I couldn't bear to eat anyone my age and," Erwin muffled the rest of Levi's words in a suffocating hug, "and then you came."

↺

From then on, there was a sudden spike of activity in their sex life. 

Like that one time when they were caught in tje bus station during a heavy downpour, and Levi gave Erwin a look that meant he was ready to go down on the man then and there if not for how Erwin suddenly straightened, his eyes darting to the far right behind Levi's back. 

Levi turned so he could see what caused Erwin to tense up like that.

The sight that greeted him wasn't pleasant.

It was a man who looked like a childish boy of ten. He was dressed in all black and had a much taller companion walking beside him. 

Levi's seen them in national television before, and always associated with the deaths of his kind. 

"Juuzou Suzuya," Erwin muttered.

"Hello!" the other boy exclaimed with false cheer. "It seems you already know who I am. Saves me from having to introduce myself, then."

Erwin tried a smile, while beside him, Levi's face was frozen stiff. "Who doesn't?" he asked good-naturedly, before a pair of knives suddenly swung past him. 

Both him and Levi dodged in time, jolting up from their seats to face the boy. 

"Seems like they missed," Suzuya commented, still in that sweet voice. 

Erwin grabbed Levi's hand and squeezed. 

"Don't," he warned, because he was sure they hadn't done anything that revealed themselves as ghouls, and they don't have their masks on right now so even if Levi brought his kagune out and managed to evade them, they would still be pretty screwed with their faces exposed to the public. 

"Don't what?" Suzuya asked.

Erwin cleared his throat. "Don't attack back." He stopped himself from saying Levi's name just in time. It was best for the CCG to have as little information on them as possible. "I don't understand why you're attacking us, Investigator. We haven't done anything wrong."

He was sidestepping knives as he spoke, jumping from his left to right foot in a manner that would've been funny if not for the situation. 

Beside him, Levi was keeping an eye on Suzuya's subordinate, who has yet to make his move. 

When Suzuya came too close to Erwin, he flinched but force himself to stay put. By then, all four of them were drenched - clothes clinging to their bodies and bangs flopping down onto their foreheads, covering their eyes. Suzuya stopped when he was a few inches away from Erwin, completely invading his personal space, and parted his bangs with both hands. Erwin was suddenly greeted with the site of owlish eyes staring straight at him. 

He took a step back.

Suzuya made a contemplative noise. "Hmm," he started, "you don't seem like ghouls, but something tells me you are." He paused. "Are you?" 

"No," Erwin answered. It was a barely audible whisper even to his enhanced ears, but it was a firm reply.

"Really?" Suzuya's subordinate asked from where he was still standing, across Levi. "How did you hone such great reflexes then? They are almost like a ghoul's." 

"Judo. I take classes, and I've taught him a few tricks," Erwin said, pointing at Levi.

"What do you think, Hanbee?" Suzuya asked. "Should we let them go?"

"Well, we don't have conclusive proof of them being a ghoul."

Suzuya turned to face them. "Fine then," he exclaimed. "You're free for today! Bye bye!" 

Erwin and Levi waited until they were out of sight before walking down the block, making a turn, and then breaking into a sprint.

↺

After that incident, they decided to move to the 16th ward. Ghoul activity was much higher there, so it was actually easier for ghouls who tried to blend in, like Levi and Erwin, to stay under the radar, since the CCG was always busy with those actually causing a public ruckus. 

Levi was restless the whole train ride to their new apartment. They had only brought alone a luggage each, so there was no need for a moving truck. 

At some point Erwin grew tired of his fidgeting and rested his hand against Levi's thighs. "Wait," he said, in the commanding tone he usually reserved for more intimate situations. "Stay still." 

He knew what Levi wanted, because through the years the boy had somehow developed a defense mechanism which associated sex with safety, though he dismissed Erwin's accusations when the older man brought it up later. 

"No?" Erwin said.

"No," Levi repeated. Erwin's arms were wrapped tightly around him as they laid on the bare mattress in the middle of their living room. The landlord had suggested a futon to spend the night in, but Levi had been too eager for Erwin to carry out his promise to stop and wait, and now he was too well-fucked and sated to get up and ask for the landlord's spare bed. He hummed as he felt Erwin's fingers threading through his hair, another hand warm and protective on his back as Erwin's lips curved into a smile against his head at his instinctive purring. "Not sex," he continued, and the way his eyes twinkled seemed to say, "Just you."

↺

The first thing Erwin was greeted with, when he woke up the next day, was the smell of something cooking in the kitchen.

Which immediately caused a violent reaction involving Olympic jumps out of the bed because the only other person living here was Levi, and the last time Erwin checked, Levi had zero cooking skills and zero inclination to change that. 

_So what was he doing in the kitchen._

Erwin rushed out of the living room and crossed the hall in six large steps because they cannot afford the costs for repairs, even with their combined salaries, and they had only just moved in so the landlord wouldn't take any excuses, and- 

He stopped abruptly.

Standing still in the midst of the island was Levi, who held a pot of coffee in one hand and a cup in another. 

He looked up then, realizing Erwin's presence, and for the first time in possibly forever, flashed a tiny smile at Erwin instead of dismissing him with a sarcastic remark. 

Erwin felt his heart being transplanted out of his chest and into the other man's hands. 

But before he professed his eternal love, he still needed to set something straight. 

"You're brewing coffee?" he squawked. 

"Yeah," Levi replied smoothly, as if he's been brewing coffee since infancy. "I've been learning to."

_"When?"_ Erwin cried. _  
_

"When you're not home, obviously."

_"Why?"_

Levi, who had shifted his attention back to the cup in his hands, opened his mouth to answer, but left it hanging open without actually saying anything. He closed it, before repeating the motion and finding that nothing came out still. 

He sighed and placed both the pot and cup down. 

"Because," he said, eyes trained downwards, refusing to meet Erwin's.

Confused, Erwin followed Levi's line of sight to his own hands. He blinked, once, twice, then blinked again because he finally saw what Levi was seeing. 

Cupped in his palms like the last molecule of oxygen on Earth was: Levi's heart, beating and alive.

**Author's Note:**

> If you continued from the end to the first two sections it would actually sort of make sense.  
> ...Or maybe I'm just forcing it lol


End file.
